Ecology

Question 1

What is an ecosystem

Answer 1

An ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment

Question 2

Importance of interdependence and competition in a community

Answer 2

To survive and reproduce, organisms require a supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there.
Plants in a community or habitat often compete with each other for light and space, and for water and mineral ions from the soil. Animals often compete with each other for food, mates and territory.

Question 3

What is interdependence

Answer 3

Within a community each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc. If one species is removed it can affect the whole community

Question 4

What is a stable community

Answer 4

one where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes remain fairly constant

Question 5

Abiotic factors

Answer 5

light intensity
temperature
moisture levels
soil pH and mineral content
wind intensity and direction
carbon dioxide levels for plants
oxygen levels for aquatic animals

Question 6

Biotic factors

Answer 6

availability of food
A new predators arriving
new pathogens
one species outcompeting another so the numbers are no longer sufficient to breed

Question 7

Adaptations

Answer 7

Organisms have features (adaptations) that enable them to survive in the conditions in which they normally live. These adaptations may be structural, behavioural or functional

Question 8

Structural adaptation

Answer 8

Features in an organisms body structure
Eg shape or color
Artic foxes have white hair, so they can camouflage in the snow which helps them Avoid predators. And sneak up and prey
Whales have thick layer of bluffer and low surface area to volume issue to help retain heat
Camels have thin layer of fats and large surface area to volume ratio to help lose heat

Question 9

Behavioural adaptation

Answer 9

Many species migrate to warmer climates during the winter of problems of living in cold conditions

Question 10

Functional adaptation

Answer 10

Inside the organisms body
Some organisms live in environments that are very extreme, such as at high temperature, pressure, or salt concentration. These organisms
are called extremophiles. Bacteria living in deep sea vents are extremophiles.

Question 11

What are photosynthetic

Answer 11

photosynthetic organisms are the
producers of biomass for life on Earth.

Question 12

Carbon cycle

Answer 12

The carbon cycle returns carbon from organisms to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide to be used by plants in photosynthesis

Question 13

Water cycle

Answer 13

The water cycle provides fresh water for plants and animals on land before draining into the seas. Water is continuously evaporated and precipitated.

Question 14

Three environmental changes that affect the distribution of organisms

Answer 14

Temperature
Availability of water
Composition of atmospheric gases

Question 15

Environmental changes
Temperature

Answer 15

For example, the distribution of bird species in Germany is changing because of the rise in the average temperature

Question 16

Environmental changes
 atmospheric gases

Answer 16

The distribution of some species change in areas, where there is more air pollution

Question 17

Atmosphere changes
Availability of water

Answer 17

The distribution or some animals and plants species in the Chop exchange between the wet and dry season

Question 18

Formula for rate

Answer 18

Rate - 1000/ time

Question 19

Factors affect rate of decay

Answer 19

Temperature-warmer temperatures make things decompose quicker because they increase series which enzymes involved in decomposition work
Oxygen availability -many organisms need oxygen to respire
water availability- decay takes place faster in moist environments because the organisms involved in decayed water to carry out biological processes
Number of decay organisms -the more microorganisms that are the faster decomposition happens

Question 20

What is biodiversity?

Answer 20

Biodiversity is the variation of different species of organisms on earth or within an ecosystem

Question 21

Pollution

Answer 21

Pollution can occur:
in water, from sewage, fertiliser or toxic chemicals
in air, from smoke and acidic gases
on land, from landfill and from toxic chemicals.
Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity

Question 22

What does biodiversity do

Answer 22

Ensures stability of ecosystems by reducing the dependence of one species on another for food, shelter, and maintenance of the physical environment

Question 23

How do humans affect land use

Answer 23

Humans reduce the amount of land available for other animals and plants by building farming, dumping, waste and quarrying

Question 24

Peat bogs

Answer 24

Books are an area of land that are acidic and water looked plants that live in both don’t fully decay when they die because there isn’t enough oxygen
Did you structure of bogs to produce guiding compost, reduces area of this habitat, which means that the variety of different plants and Mars and microorganism that lives there are also reduced
The decay of Peat releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Question 25

Deforestation

Answer 25

Deforestation is the act of cutting down forest
Reasons for deforestation include
Growing crops for biofuels
Providing land for cattle and Rice fields

Question 26

Problems with deforestation

Answer 26

Less co2 is taking in
More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Less biodiversity

Question 27

Consequences of global warming

Answer 27

Are you diversity will be reduced which would lead to extinction of certain species
Temperature rises causing sewer to expand an ice melt, which would cause the levels to raise, and that would lead to flooding and lead toloss of habitats
The distribution of many wild animals and plants species may change as temperature increases and the amount of rain changes in different areas

Question 28

Global warming

Answer 28

The Earth is gradually hitting up because of the increase level in greenhouse gases
Levels of Karen, dioxide and missing in the atmosphere are increasing, which contributes to global warming

Question 29

Programs put in place to reduce the negative effects of humans on ecosystem and biodiversity 

Answer 29

breeding programmes for endangered species
protection and regeneration of rare habitats
reintroduction of field margins and hedgerows in agricultural areas where farmers grow only one type of crop
• reduction of deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions by some governments
• recycling resources rather than dumping waste in landfill

Question 30

Positive and negative human interactions in the ecosystem

Answer 30

Protecting biodiversity cost money
Protecting biodiversity may come at the cost to local peoples live, for instance, the people who are paid to cut down, trees may lose their jobs to preserve the biodiversity
Certain organisms are seen as pest by farmers, and I killed to protect the crops, which would result in the food chain and biodiversity being affected

Question 31

The differences between the tropic levels of organisms within a ecosystem

Answer 31

Level 1: Plants and algae make their own food and are called producers.
Level 2: Herbivores eat plants/algae and are called primary consumers.
Level 3: Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.
Level 4: Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.
Apex predators are carnivores with no predators

Question 32

Decomposes

Answer 32

Decomposers break down dead plant and animal matter by secreting enzymes into the environment. Small soluble food molecules then diffuse into the microorganism

Question 33

Reasons for loss of biomass

Answer 33

Not all the ingested material is absorption is egested as faeces
Some absorbed material is lost as waste such as carbon dioxide and
water and water and urea in urine

Question 34

What percent of biomass from each tropic is transferred to the level above it

Answer 34

10%

Question 35

Formula for efficiency

Answer 35

Biomass transferred to the next level \
Biomass available at the previous level
X100

Question 36

What is food security

Answer 36

have enough food to feed a population

Question 37

Biological factors affecting food security

Answer 37

the increasing birth rate has threatened food security in some countries
changing diets in developed countries means scarce food resources are transported around the world
new pests and pathogens that affect farming
environmental changes that affect food production, such as widespread famine occurring in some countries if rains fail

the cost of agricultural inputs
conflicts that have arisen in some parts of the world which affect the availability of water or food.

Question 38

Farming techniques

Answer 38

The efficiency of food production can be improved by restricting en transfer from food animals to the environment. This can be done by limiting their movement and by controlling the temperature of their surroundings

Question 39

Substance, fishery

Answer 39

Fish stock in the ocean is declining. This is important to maintain fish stocks at the level where breathing continues or certain species may disappear altogether in some areas.
Fishing quarters, this is when there is a limit on the number and size of fishes that can be cut in certain areas to prevent overfishing
Net size, a limit on the size of fishing nets to reduce the number of unwanted or discarded fishes

Question 40

Mycoprotein

Answer 40

The fungus Fusarium is useful for producing mycoprotein, a protein-rich ood suitable for vegetarians. The fungus is grown on glucose syrup, in aerobic conditions, and the biomass is harvested and purified.

Question 41

GM crops

Answer 41

Genetically modified bacterium produces human insulin when have acid and purified. This can be used to treat people with diabetes.

Question 42

Pros of b biotechnology

Answer 42

Produces crops that are resistant to pest, improving cropyields
Clubs can be genetically modified to grow better in drought conditions
Cups can be modified to improve more nutritional value

Question 43

Cons of biotechnology

Answer 43

People argues that poverty is a bigger problem than availability of food
The main problem for in-availability of crops is poor soil so even if GM crops were used, they wouldn’t survive
Some fear Taft countries may come to dependence on GM crop companies